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BY 



THOMAS D. MUTTER, M. D., 

LECTURER ON SURGERY; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE N. Y. MEDICAL AND 
SURGICAL SOCIETY; FELLOW OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF PHILA- 
DELPHIA; MEMBER OF THE PATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA; 
MEMBER OF THE ACAD. OF NA*T. SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA; HON. 
MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA; ONE 
OF THE PHYSICIANS TO THE PHILADELPHIA DISPENSARY; 
ONE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
&c. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS, 

No. 1 LODGE ALLEY. 
1S40. 




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SALT SULPHUR SPRINGS, 



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BY 

THOMAS D. MUTTER, M. D., 

LECTURER ON SURGERY; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE N. Y. MEDICAL AND 
SURGICAL SOCIETY; FELLOW OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF PHILA- 
DELPHIA; MEMBER OF THE PATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA; 
MEMBER OF THE ACAD. OF NAT. SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA; HON. 
MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA; ONE 
OF THE PHYSICIANS TO THE PHILADELPHIA DISPENSARY; 
ONE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
&c. 



/ 



PHILADELPHIA: 
T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS, 

No. 1 LODGE ALLEY. 



1840. 



PREFACE 



" It is not unamusing," observes Shenstone, " to consider the 
several apologies that people make when they commence authors. 
It is taken for granted, that in every publication there is at least 
a seeming violation of modesty; a presumption on the writer's 
side that he is able to instruct or to entertain the world; which 
implies a supposition that he can communicate what they cannot 
draw from their own reflections." It does not appear to me ne- 
cessary, to offer an apology to the public for introducing to their 
more particular attention the " Springs of Virginia," or more 
properly that group of mineral springs of the powerful sanative 
influence of which we have all heard, but of whose true charac- 
ter so little, even at this time, is known! This ignorance is attri- 
butable perhaps, in the first place, to their remote location, which 
prevented, for a length of time, an accurate investigation into their 
properties by competent persons; and in the second, to the " tide 
of fashion," having set in another direction. Within the last few 
years so numerous have been the cases of different ills, either 
radically cured, or materially benefitted by their employment, 
that the attention of the whole North seems at the present mo- 
ment to be directed towards them. The fashionable man, as 
well as the victim of disease, begins now to ask, a What sort of a 
place is the Virginia Springs?" 

In the year 1834 I was induced, in consequence of feeble 
health, to visit this delightful, as well as health-restoring region, 
and during my residence there, engaged extensively in the prac- 
tice of my profession. My object in seeking professional occu- 
pation was solely to ascertain for myself, as nearly as possible, 
the merits of the different waters, and I succeeded in collecting a 
number of interesting, as well as practically important facts, 
bearing upon their employment in different diseases. These I 
determined to embody in the shape of a small work, and had 



gone so far as to make arrangements for its publication. Profes- 
sional as well as other engagements, which could not be set aside, 
obliged me to give up my intention, and it is more than probable, 
that I should never again have taken up the subject, had not 
my health once more obliged me, in the summer of 1839, 
to repeat my visit. From a variety of causes, I was forced into 
a very extensive practice, which circumstance, although it formed 
a very serious obstacle to my own recovery, was nevertheless, 
the means of verifying the observations made in 1834, and induced 
me to revive my original plan of making public what I had col- 
lected relative to the therapeutic influence of the different Springs. 
I proposedevoting a pamphlet to each of these waters, (in order 
to prevent any thing like confusion in their administration) and 
shall commence with the " Salt Sulphur/' a spring as yet little 
known among us, but whose sanative influence in many diseases 
cannot fail to establish for it ere long a reputation of the highest 
order. I do not pretend to offer the brief sketch which I propose 
to give, as a thoroughly digested or very scientific resume, yet I 
trust my efforts to afford useful and correct medical informa- 
tion will prove profitable to the afflicted; to the profession; and 
to the proprietors of the establishments. 



CHAPTER I. 
ON MINERAL WATERS IN GENERAL. 

Were I disposed to enter into a detailed account of the intro- 
duction of mineral waters as therapeutic agents into the science 
of medicine, there would be no lack of interesting materials for 
the purpose: but the object of this pamphlet being to introduce to 
the especial notice of the public, a water hitherto but little known, 
and but rarely appreciated, the occupation of its pages by a 
" History of Mineral Waters/' would be foreign to our intention. 
We shall, therefore, refer all such as take an interest in the sub- 
ject, to the writings of Patissier, Bourdon, Franceschi, and John 
Bell, in which they will find that princes and beggars, poets and 
historians, doctors and quacks, have from time to time stood 
forth in their behalf.* 

Although we cannot spare time or space for the discussion of 
the history, a few remarks relative to the operation of mineral 
waters will not be inapposite, and may prove useful to the 
general reader. The vulgar axiom, " that no two doctors 
agree upon any given point," is unfortunately but too often veri- 
fied by the thoughtlessness and want of care displayed by physi- 
cians in the promulgation of an opinion or the recommendation 
of a remedy. Upon no question, however, has this want of una- 
nimity been thrown into bolder relief, than upon that referring to 
the agency of mineral waters in the cure of disease. While some, 
carried away no doubt by a blind enthusiasm, consider them as 
panaceas to almost every ill, and recommend their use appa- 
rently without reference to their physical and chemical differ- 

* " The terra mineral has been applied by chemists and physicians, to every 
water issuing from the earth, and impregnated with mineral or saline sub- 
stances to such an extent as to receive a strong taste, and fitting it for a com- 
mon beverage, and yet imparting to it such properties as to render it an useful 
agent when drunk in a great number of diseases." — Bell on Baths and Mineral 
Waters. 



ences, or even the condition of the patient, others look upon them 
as almost inert, and attribute the removal of the morbid condition 
of the system to the exercise in travelling, to the various amuse- 
ments, change of air, and mode of living. Both parties, (as is 
the case with all who push their theories to ultraism,) are in error ! 
If we recollect that nearly all mineral waters are active agents, and 
present differences in their physical and chemical properties, it 
will be obvious that they are adapted to the cure of different dis- 
eases, or different stages of the same: and hence, that their ad- 
ministration should be governed by a physician well acquainted 
with the peculiar properties of each, as well as with the nature of 
the disease for which he employs them ! 

To those who deny their active agency in the cure of disease, 
we would say, that while acknowledging the powerful sanative 
influence of exercise, change of air, and scene, we cannot for 
an instant doubt, that a very large majority of the cases re- 
lieved by a visit to some mineral spring would have returned 
home very little if at all benefitted, had they been consigned to 
the influence of these agents alone. In the language of Patissier, 
we may without much hesitation assert that " in general, mineral 
waters revive the languishing circulation, give a new direction to 
the vital energies, reestablish the perspiratory action of the skin, 
bring back to their physiological type the vitiated or suppressed 
secretions, and provoke salutary evacuations by the different 
emunctories: they bring about in the animal economy an intimate 
transmutation, a profound change; they saturate the sick body." 

When a mineral water is taken into the stomach or intestines, 
it is supposed to exert a double action upon the economy. 1. It 
operates as a simple hygienic agent: this mode of action is com- 
mon to all, and depends upon the nature of the vehicle holding 
the active principle in solution, which is water. 2. It acts from 
the nature of its constituent principles in a peculiar or specific 
manner. This last action is nearly always manifested by general 
or local excitement* It is, moreover, the action upon which the 
sanative impressions of the water for the most part depend, but 
to be useful, it must be restricted within proper limits; if it is 

* A marked exception to this is met with in the waters of the Red Sul- 
phur, which are almost invariably sedative in their operation. 



slow and gradual, it often relieves and cures the disease; if, on 
the other hand, it be too intense, it exasperates, and often 
to a fatal termination, all the sources of irritation. It is obvious 
that mineral waters are not adapted to acute diseases of any kind, 
inasmuch as they augment the activity of the circulation, and 
thus keep up or even increase the inflammatory action upon 
which these diseases depend; they are on the other hand highly 
beneficial in chronic complaints, and the good effects arising from 
their use in such cases are the more striking as well as durable in 
proportion as they are brought about gradually. The removal 
of the disease is sometimes indicated by a critical effort of nature, 
which is manifested in the different secretions, or by the appear- 
ance of eruptions on the surface of the body. Sometimes, on the 
contrary, the cure takes place silently, or without any apprecia- 
ble change in any of the functions; the patient getting daily bet- 
ter and better without being able to account for it. There are 
some chronic diseases, however, in which mineral waters do 
harm: such are aneurisms of the heart and large arteries, can- 
cerous affections, confirmed tubercular consumption, and some 
complaints of the brain. 

From the fact that almost all mineral waters stimulate more 
or less powerfully the whole system, some physicians have 
attributed all the benefit derived from their employment to this 
circumstance alone. Such an opinion is by no means correct; 
for, although this action is probably the most striking, still it is 
not the only one. It is very certain that besides stimulating the 
organism at large, they, (according to the difference of their pro- 
perties,) direct their impressions specially upon different organs. 
Thus some, as the sulphurous, act principally upon the skin and 
chylopoietic viscera, others as the chalybeate, upon the kidney and 
bladder. It is moreover generally admitted, I believe, that when 
absorbed and conveyed throughout the economy, they have the 
property of changing the consistence as well as the composition 
of our fluids, thereby accomplishing what is called an alterative 
action — and often too without producing much excitement. — 
Lastly, if mineral waters acted only as stimulants, why does 
not the substitution of every other stimulant produce the same 
result? The degree of excitement occasioned depends upon a 
variety of circumstances; for instance, the temperature of the 



8 

water, the greater or less energy of its mineral principles, the 
quantity taken, the manner in which it is administered, and the 
particular condition of the individual who uses it; all of which 
should be held in view in our discussions relative to its employ- 
ment or disuse. The special action of the water is also modified 
by the same circumstances, the same water being purgative in 
one case, diuretic in another, and diaphoretic in a third. 

Few patients, however, recover their health entirely by the 
immediate effect of the water. "Some are partially relieved, 
and the greater number are cured only after the lapse of several 
weeks or months!"* 

This observation is annually verified in the cases visiting the 
Salt Sulphur, and many experience an aggravation of all their 
symptoms while using the water. I have generally observed 
whenever this was the case, that the exacerbations were crises 
in the disease, and when very acute almost always indicative of 
an ultimate radical cure. So common is such an event, that you 
will hear the "habitues" of the spring consoling those laboring 
under these critical attacks, with the assurance that there is no 
better sign of the waters " doing them good!" It often happens, 
nevertheless, that the excitement is such as to call for medical 
treatment, and it is almost always proper to omit the use of the 
water during its continuance. We must be careful not to con- 
found these critical exacerbations with those developed by the 
water in cases to which it is not adapted. Whenever we find 
that it really disagrees with the patient, its use must be sus- 
pended and other agents or a different spring had recourse to. 
The renewal or exacerbation of the disease is the result of the 
stimulating property of the water which frequently excites acute 
inflammation in the organs suffering originally under one of a 
chronic type. In these organs a new action is thus set up which 
often removes every vestige of the old one. 

Like every other remedy of any efficacy mineral waters are 
liable to abuse and it is really astonishing that such glaring errors 
should be daily committed, not only by the patients, but often by 
the physicians who recommend their employment. It is by no 
means an uncommon occurrence, (and those who have visited 

* Bell on Baths and Mineral waters. 



the springs of our country, will bear me out in the statement I 
am about to make,) for an invalid to arrive, furnished with a 
"carte blanche," from a physician who has probably little or no 
knowledge of the active properties of the agent he recommends, 
to use the water as he may see fit, or with merely a charge to 
use it with caution. Others are sent without any directions 
whatever, in the hope that the water may suit their condition, 
and come trusting in Providence alone. Others again arrive 
with written instructions, to drink so many glasses of water 
per diem, whether it agrees with them or not. Many patients 
do not take the advice of a physician at all, but relying on 
the representations of those who have derived benefit, imagine 
that they too will be cured, although in all probability, from the 
nature of their disease, this water may be the most prejudicial 
to which they could resort. Used in this careless and dangerous 
manner, is it to be wondered at, that so many individuals leave 
the springs, either not at all benefitted, or in a worse condition 
even than when they arrived? The regulations which are 
thought necessary, and which are adopted in most European 
countries, especially France and Germany during the use of a 
mineral water, are either unknown or neglected in this. There, 
nearly every spring is supplied with an experienced physician, 
one familiar with the character of the water, whose duty it is to 
take charge of the sick as they arrive: here, with but one or two 
exceptions, those who frequent our watering places have to rely 
on chance for medical aid. Is this as it should be? 

For the sake of those who may not have it in their power to 
consult a physician, I will conclude this section with a few rules 
applicable to the employment of nearly all the active mineral 
waters in the United States, in cases to which they are suited. 

1. As already remarked, there is probably no greater error 
existing, than the one which attributes to the prompt and obvi- 
ous effect of a mineral water, its beneficial operation upon 
the system. So far from this being a favorable circumstance, 
almost all the alterative action (the one to be desired) of the 
water is lost, and the patient, instead of being relieved, is often 
injured by its use. The individual, therefore, who wishes to 
obtain its sanative influence, must take it, as a general rule, in 
small quantities and for some days, in order that the system 



10 

may become fully saturated. This is very different from the 
advice often given, and but too readily pursued by those who 
receive it. Under the impression that no injury can be produced 
by the water, and that the greater the quantity taken, the more 
certain and permanent will be the relief, many individuals are 
induced to make use of it in a mariner calculated to do them 
much injury. I have repeatedly heard persons boasting of hav- 
ing swallowed 14, 20, or even 30 glasses of a mineral water, per 
diem. Used in this way, it rarely if ever produces the desired 
effect. It is certainly true that some require a much larger quan- 
tity than others to obtain a given result, but there is scarcely one 
in a thousand who will need, or can support with impunity, the 
drenching of which they boast. I have rarely met with a per- 
son who at first could take with advantage more than from six 
to eight glasses of any mineral water, (with the exception, proba- 
bly, of that of the Red Sulphur ,) per diem. By degrees, this quan- 
tity may increase up to ten or twelve, and this as a general rule 
should be considered the maximum dose. Employed in this 
way even, I have known the sulphur waters in some constitu- 
tutions, particularly the easily excited, produce very disagreea- 
ble effects, such as headache, nausea, and furred tongue, with 
more or less febrile excitement. This is not, however, the usual 
primary effect of the use of a sulphur water, for the most part 
this action is manifested by the increased secretion which takes 
place from the kidneys and bowels, in some cases so profuse as 
to amount to a serious disease. When the water does not pass 
off by one or the other of these emunctories, or by the skin, it 
produces the symptoms of plethora, and general uneasiness al- 
luded to. 

2. Preparation of the system for the use of a mineral water, 
is often necessary to secure a proper effect, and some go so far as 
to insist upon it in every case. Persons in health, and especially 
those of a plethoric habit, will generally require a mild laxative, 
with a light diet, for a. few days before the water is taken freely. 
Persons in feeble health should always commence with caution, 
and, provided the water produces the desired effect, no medical 
treatment will be required. Where, however, it fails to afford 
relief, a physician should be consulted, who will prescribe accord- 
ing to the exigencies of the case. No general miles can be given 



11 

respecting the treatment, one patient often requiring an anti- 
phlogistic, while another may need a tonic course. 

3. The time of day at which a mineral water should be taken, 
is a matter of primary consideration. Some use it at morning, 
noon and night, than which, as a general rule, no course is 
better calculated to destroy its therapeutic tendency. Others 
drink it only before breakfast, and on going to bed, a plan less 
prejudicial than the first, inasmuch as a less quantity is usually 
taken. The manner which seems to us the most rational, and 
the one which experience undoubtedly sanctions, is this: Let all 
that is to be taken during the day, be divided into two parts; 
drink one before breakfast, and the other about an hour before 
dinner. Used in this way, the water is always received upon an 
empty stomach, and is immediately disposed of in some way or 
other; the impression being consequently much more effectual. 
When taken at night, it is apt to cause disturbed dreams, rest- 
lessness, and headache in the morning. The custom of taking it 
immediately before or after a meal, is highly injurious, inas- 
much as the digestive process, the proper performance of which 
is so necessary to the well being of the individual, is interfered 
with and disturbed by the presence of so large a quantity of 
liquid; and the result is, that some of the most obstinate cases of 
dyspepsia are annually produced, instead of being cured by the 
use of mineral waters. 

4. Another practice almost as reprehensible as the one just 
alluded to, is that of taking glass after glass in quick succession. 
Here the stomach is given more than it can readily dispose of, 
and is distended to a degree that is highly injurious. Eructations, 
giddiness, from the stomach pressing upon the large vessels of the 
trunk, and thus impeding the circulation; and finally, atonic dys- 
pepsia are the consequences of this practice. 

5. The number of days that a mineral water may be used, 
will of course depend upon circumstances. Most persons cannot 
bear its administration longer than twenty or thirty days. About 
the expiration of this period, symptoms of gastric distress, with 
headache, furred tongue, quick and irritable pulse, costive bow- 
els, and loss of appetite come on, which, provided the use of the 
water be continued, soon declare themselves in a more vigorous 
form, and a general attack of fever is developed. In some cases, 



12 

however, I have known these symptoms to manifest themselves 
as early as the eighth day, and in others again to be postponed 
to the sixth or eighth week. Persons laboring under disease, 
must, of course, be guided by their sensations: should they dis- 
cover a marked improvement in their cases, I would advise them 
to remain as long as this improvement continues, but as soon as 
there is a change for the worse, to leave the spring, or discon- 
tinue the use of the water. I have also witnessed cases in which 
a water disagreeing for the first few days, subsequently brought 
to bear its operation with the happiest effects. In such, the best 
plan is to suspend the use of the water, until by the administra- 
tion of medicine, diet, &c, the system has been reduced to the 
tolerant point, or use it in very small quantities, along with the 
agents alluded to, until the same end is attained. 

6. Another very injurious practice prevails at most of the wa- 
tering places in this country. It is supposed by many that taking 
the water directly from the spring, contributes very much to its 
efficacy, and consequently, we find the sick and feeble, as well as 
the robust, sallying forth by break of day for this purpose. When 
we reflect that at this early hour the temperature of the atmo- 
sphere (in the mountains at least) ranges from 55° to 60°, and 
that frequently the whole place is enveloped in a fog so dense as 
to be almost impenetrable, we may readily imagine that the 
invalid is pursuing a course fraught with danger. Many and 
many a chill or cough has thus been rendered difficult to cure, or 
so firmly seated in its organ as to baffle all the efforts of the phy- 
sician. The water is undoubtedly more palatable when taken 
in this way, but it is not more efficacious than when drank at 
the cabin. Every invalid should bear this in mind, particularly 
those who visit the " White Sulphur Spring." 

7. At such places, there is generally but one system of living, 
to which all must submit, and unfortunately, it is one, as a gene- 
ral rule, any thing but proper for an invalid, who is often obliged 
to suffer, and sometimes severely for the want of those articles 
of food which usually constitute the diet of the sick. It is to be 
hoped that the worthy proprietors of some of our watering 
places, will bear this fact in mind, and provide a store for the 
sick as well as for the robust. It is impossible to lay down any 
definite rules upon this point, but to use the language of one well 






13 

versed in the principles of dietetics, " The invalid must never so 
far forget himself as to imagine that the mineral water which he 
drinks, will prove an antidote against the poison of the kitchen or 
the cellar/' That food which at home was found to agree best 
with the patient, may be used at the spring, and when the dis- 
ease assumes an acute form, the diet must be regulated by the 
physician in attendance. 

8. While using a mineral water, it will be well for the invalid 
to employ occasionally the bath either hot or cold according to 
the indication in his case. As this agent is one of much import- 
ance, it will be proper for invalids to consult their physicians be- 
fore resorting to it, who will regulate the temperature, and say 
how often, as well as at what time, it is to be used. 

9. It is the celebrated Sydenham, I believe, who has observed, 
" The practice of changing the dress with each season, kills more 
persons than gunpowder" and daily observation proves the 
correctness of the remark. In our country it is peculiarly the 
case. If " the well are made sick" by such changes, how much 
greater will be the risk of an invalid who pursues the same 
course! Yet how reckless are most persons in this respect! I 
have often seen a consumptive patient, or one laboring under 
some other chronic complaint, exchange his winter pantaloons 
for summer ones, and perhaps throw off his flannel, because the 
thermometer happened to range for a few days or hours higher 
than was agreeable to his sensations. In all chronic complaints 
it is highly important to keep up a certain degree of excitement 
on the surface of the body, and to accomplish this, flannel next 
the skin, and other warm clothing, should be constantly worn. 
To all invalids, then, 1 would advise no change in their dress, as 
the summer advances, and to those visiting mineral springs, is 
this remark particularly addressed; for, as a general rule, no loca- 
tions are so subject to sudden and severe atmospheric vicissitudes. 

10. An invalid should also bear in mind that exercise is often 
an essential agent in the cure of many diseases, and should not, 
from the fact of his making use of another supposed to be more 
efficacious, neglect it. The kind of exercise must, of course, be 
governed by the circumstances of the patient, as well as by the 
nature of the disease. Riding on horseback, driving, walking, 
dancing, &c., may be resorted to in turn. 



14 



CHAPTER II. 

THE SALT SULPHUR SFRINGS. 

The Salt Sulphur Springs, three in number, are situated in the 
county of Monroe, in 37s ° north latitude, and 5° longitude west 
of Philadelphia, and at an elevation of about fourteen hundred 
feet above tide water. All the springs are situated on "Indian 
Creek," a small limestone stream which rises in a valley a few 
hundred yards above the Old or Sweet spring, and after pursuing 
its "devious way" for about twenty-three miles in a southwest 
direction, finally empties into New River, in Monroe County. It 
derives its name from the circumstance of the Indians, who, in 
former times were in the habit of entering the valley of Virginia 
from Kentucky and Ohio, almost invariably making it their "camp- 
ing stream" Their graves, along with other traces of their fre- 
quent resort to this particular spot, are occasionally met with at 
the present day. 

The Salt Sulphur is hemmed in on every side by mountains. 
To the south and east, in full view, and about ten miles distant, 
is Peters' Mountain; due north, and about fourteen miles distant, 
is a low spur of the Allegheny; and west, it is bounded by 
Swope's Mountain, at, or near the base of which, are the two 
principal springs. 

It appears, from the statement of some of the " oldest inhabi- 
tants," that the Old ox Sweet spring was discovered in 1802 or 
1803, by Alexander Hutchinson, Esq., who was engaged in 
boring for salt along Indian Creek. For several years it enjoyed 
much celebrity, and was annually the resort of a large company. 
The house occupied as the Hotel, and several of the old cabins 
are still standing. The opening of the Salt Sulphur Spring, 
the medical properties of which are so much more strongly 
marked, and the erection of commodious buildings near it, soon 
destroyed the fame of the Siveet, the water of which is at the 



15 

present time used almost exclusively for the baths, although there 
are some individuals who still prefer it to that of either the Salt 
or New spring. To gratify such, and at the same time to test the 
value of the water, the enterprising proprietors, in the summer 
of 1S39, caused the spring to be deepened and thoroughly re- 
paired. At present, it is enclosed in a white marble reservoir, 
two feet square by two feet four inches in depth, over which is 
erected a neat wooden edifice, of an order " sui generis." In 
taste, smell, color and constituents, it closely resembles the Salt 
Spring, but is much more feeble as a remedial agent, which is to 
be attributed to its containing a smaller quantity of the active 
principles common to both. 

The second spring or the Salt Sulphur proper, was discovered 
in 1805, by Erwin Benson, Esq. He was induced to believe, that 
either sulphur water or salt, might be found in considerable quan- 
tities at the spot now occupied by the spring, from the fact of its 
being the favorite " Lick," of immense herds of Buffalo and 
Deer. Under this impression he began boring, and had penetra- 
ted but a short distance below the surface, when he struck the 
vein of Sulphur water, now constituting the spring. Like the 
old, this spring is inclosed in a marble reservoir, two feet square, 
and about two feet ten inches deep, but from the boldness of its 
sources, it is probable, that this spring will be enlarged. It is 
protected from the influence of the weather, by a neat and appro- 
priate edifice, furnished with seats. The water possesses all the 
sensible properties of the sulphur waters in general; its odour for 
instance, is very like that of a " tolerable egg" and may, in cer- 
tain states of the atmosphere, be perceived at some distance from 
the spring, and in taste it is cousin-german to a strong solution of 
Epsom salts and magnesia. In a short time, however, strange to 
say, these disagreeable properties are either not observed, or be- 
come on the other hand, attractive; indeed, there is hardly an in- 
stance of an individual's retaining his original repugnance to them 
longer than three or four days, and some there are, who become 
so excessively fond of the water, as to give it the preference over 
any other liquid. Like most of the sulphurous, this water is per- 
fectly transparent, and deposites a whitish sediment composed of 
its various saline ingredients — mingled with sulphur. It is also 
for the most part placid; occasionally, however, it is disturbed by 



16 

a bubble of gas which steals slowly to the surface, where it either 
explodes with a timid and dimpling smack, or is eagerly caught 
up by some care worn and almost world-weary invalid, as a gem 
from the treasury of Hygeia! 

The following analysis of this spring is furnished by Professor 
Rogers, of the University of Virginia. 

Solid Ingredients. 
Sulphate of lime. 
Sulphate of magnesia. 
Sulphate of soda. 
Carbonate of lime. 
Carbonate of magnesia. 
Chloride of sodium. 
Chloride of magnesium. 
Chloride of calcium. 
Iodine probably combined with soduim. 
Sulpho-Hydrate of sodium and magnesium. 
Sulphur mingled with a peculiar organic matter. 
Per-oxide of Iron derived from Proto-sulphate. 

Gaseous Ingredients. 

Sulphuretted Hydrogen. 
Nitrogen. 
Oxygen. 
Carbonic Acid. 

The bubbles of gas that are seen adhering to the sides of the 
spring are composed almost entirely of nitrogen." 

The precise proportions of the solid ingredients will shortly 
appear in the " Report on the Geology of Va.," which Professor 
Rogers is at the present moment preparing for the press, and for 
the appearance of which the medical profession has been for 
some time anxiously waiting. The temperature of this water is 
50° Fah. 

The third, or " Neiv Spring," was discovered in 1S3S by the 
proprietors, while engaged in cutting a drain for the water of the 
" Salt," and was immediately deepened and furnished with a 
marble reservoir, similar to those of the other springs, over which 



17 

a frame building has been erected. Its water is not as limpid as 
that of the other springs, in consequence of the excessive depo- 
site of sulphur in combination with some organic element, which 
floats as a pellicle upon the surface of the spring. Frequently, 
when the heat of the sun is intense, a beautiful pink deposite 
resembling in appearance that met with in the " Red Sulphur/' 
is discovered upon the sides and bottom of the reservoir. In 
taste and smell, it resembles very much the water of the other 
springs, but from being ten degrees warmer, is to some persons 
less palatable. It contains but a small portion of free gas, and 
hence presents a sluggish, and when covered by the pellicle al- 
luded to, rather a disagreeable aspect. In chemical composition, 
it resembles the Salt, as the following extract from a letter of 
Professor Rogers will show: " I inclose you a list of the ingredi- 
ents in the Salt Sulphur water, which applies to the New as well 
as the Old spring, the former having rather a smaller amount of 
saline matter in general, though in some ingredients surpassing 
the other. It has been very minutely analysed, and is the first 
of all the waters in which I was able to detect traces of Iodine, 
which, it contains in larger amount than the Old Spring, and 
indeed most of the other waters in which I have been so fortu- 
nate as to discover this material." Its temperature ranges from 
62° to 68° Fah. 

Comparing the water of the Salt Sulphur with the sulphur 
waters of Europe, we shall find that it corresponds most nearly 
with those of the Harrowgate and Dinsdale springs in England. 
In this country there are several springs, the waters of which 
resemble it in many respects. The White Sulphur, (Greenbriar 
Co., Va.) The Big Bone, (Kentucky,) and the Olympian, 
(Kentucky,) are of this class. 

The New Spring, although it resembles in most respects the 
Salt, contains, according to the analysis of Professor Rogers, a 
much larger proportion of iodine. The presence of this ingredi- 
ent will render this water, in all probability, highly useful in 
many cases in which the other would prove either a feeble agent, 
or produce no effect whatever; scrofula, some diseases of the 
skin, goitre, and the affections for which iodine is generally given 
are among them. Having had but little experience in the use of 
this spring from the fact, that it had but recently been opened when 
3 



tf# 



18 

I visited the place, I will not hazard a positive opinion relative 
to its therapeutic virtues; I have little doubt, however, that it 
will speedily become a favorite as well as eminently useful water. 

The Old spring contains most of the ingredients of the other 
two, but in smaller quantity, and hence may be useful in cases 
in which the latter operates too powerfully. My experience 
with this water being also limited, I must forbear until a future 
occasion saying much about its powers as a remedial agent. 

In the exhibition of these waters the rules laid down as appli- 
cable to the administration of all others, may be adhered to. When 
it becomes necessary to change the water, or alternate it with 
another, I would recommend from its great similarity that of the 
« White Sulphur:' 



19 



CHAPTER IIL 

DISEASES TO WHICH THE SALT SULPHUR IS APPLICABLE. 

The Salt Sulphur like almost all the sulphurous waters, being 
a stimulant, should consequently not be employed in acute or 
highly inflammatory affections. Nor in those in which there 
exists much active determination of blood to the head, or at least 
not until this determination has been guarded against by previous 
diet, purgation, and if necessary blood-letting. But in all chro- 
nic affections of the brain, nervous system, some diseases of the 
lungs, stomach, bowels, liver, spleen, kidneys, and bladder, it is 
one of the most valuable of our remedial agents. In diseases 
of the joints (gout and rheumatism) and skin; in mercurial 
sequelae; in hemorrhoidal affections; and in chronic diseases of 
the womb it is also a remedy of immense importance. 

1. Of Chronic Disease of the Brain! — In no class of diseases, 
probably, is there required more caution in the exhibition of a 
mineral water and especially of one which under ordinary cir- 
cumstances excites the system at large. Many persons on this 
account have prohibited its use, but experience, the only sure 
guide, has shown that many a case of chronic head-ache, incipi- 
ent mania, and local palsy dependent upon congestion or chronic 
inflammation of the brain, will yield to the steady use of a 
cathartic mineral water, when almost every other agent has 
failed. For such cases the Salt Sulphur seems peculiarly adapted, 
but it must be used with caution, and assisted, if necessary, by 
local depletion, counter irritation, and diet. 

2. Neuralgia. — It is well known to the profession, that neu- 
ralgic affections are often dependent upon a deranged condition 
of the chylopoietic viscera. The habitually costive, or those 
who have suffered from repeated attacks of miasmatic diseases, 
and the dyspeptic, are generally most liable to attacks of neural- 



20 

gia. In such cases I have known the Salt Sulphur prove highly 
beneficial. 

S. Nervous Diseases. — The various affections termed nervous, 
such as hypochondria, hysteria, catalepsy, chorea, &c, are also fre- 
quently dependent upon disorder of the digestive apparatus, and 
resist all our remedies for months or years. — In such cases a 
trip to a mineral spring is generally recommended, not so much 
for the waters probably, as for the change of air, scene, mode of 
life, &c, which it entails. Making all due allowances for the 
beneficial action of the last named agents, I am confident that 
the steady cathartic action of the water is of infinite benefit. 
Two cases of chorea and one of hysteria I saw completely re- 
lieved in the course of six weeks, by the use of the Salt Sulphur 
water. 

4. Chronic Diseases of Chest. — Diseases of the thoracic viscera 
are unfortunately but too common in our country and hence we 
find crowds of their unfortunate victims at nearly every watering 
place, seeking, and too often but vainly, some relief from their 
distressing condition. In some cases, those for example, in which 
the irritation is dependent upon the retrocession of some habitual 
discharge, and those too in which the skin is dry and cool and 
the indication is to produce a revulsion to the surface by directing 
the fluids from the centre to the circumference, which will also 
facilitate expectoration, the cautious administration of the Salt 
Sulphur water will be useful. In those cases also in which the 
cough is sympathetic or dependent upon some lesion of thechylo- 
poietic viscera, it may be employed. But in every instance 
where it can be traced to an organic affection of the heart or 
large blood vessels, and if there be fever, emaciation, tubercles 
with cavities in the lung, haemoptysis or diarrhoea, the death of 
the patient will be hastened by the employment of a stimulant so 
active as the Salt Sulphur. For pulmonary cases the Salt Sul- 
phur offers the advantage of an agreeable temperature and a 
dryness of atmosphere not possessed by the other springs in the 
mountains of Virginia. During the season which continues from 
the first of June to the middle of September the thermometer 
ranges from 70° to S5° Fahrenheit, and there is little or no fog in 
the morning. 



21 

5. Disease of the Heart. — The following certificate is pub- 
lished by Mr. H. McF. of Williamsburg District, South Carolina. 
I cannot suppose, however, that the affection of the heart was 
organic, it must have been one of those cases of functional dis- 
turbance dependent upon disorder of the digestive apparatus. 

September 4th, 1838. 
"Mr. Erskine: — Having been a sufferer for more than three 
years from organic disease of the heart, connected with bronchi- 
tis, pronounced so by eminent physicians of South Carolina, I 
had the good fortune to visit your spring, and using the water 
freely for nearly two weeks, with a decidedly good effect upon 
my obstinate disease, I feel it a duty I owe to the public and 
to other sufferers like myself, to say, that I find it to possess 
none of the irritating quality that some persons suppose. So 
highly have I been pleased with the medicinal qualities of the 
water of your spring, "that I beg you will send me a barrel of it, 
containing 30 or 35 gallons." H. McF. 

6. Chronic Diseases of the Abdominal Viscera. — In making 
an estimate of the cases of disease one meets with at a watering 
place, it will not, I think, be going too far, to say, that two thirds 
at least are referable to some affection of the abdominal viscera. 
Hepatitis, jaundice, splenitis, gastritis, gastralgia, pyrosis, dys- 
pepsia, enteritis, diarrhoea, &c, are encountered at every turn. 

In Hepatic affections, or those commonly called Bilious, the 
Salt Sulphur water is, without doubt, one of the most powerful 
and efficient remedies we possess. When taken in a proper man- 
ner, its sanative influence is speedily manifested by a change in 
the biliary secretion. Constipation, the usual attendant upon such 
cases, is relieved, the sallowness of the skin disappears, and in 
the course of a few weeks a complete and radical cure is often 
accomplished. 

Chronic Splenitis. — One of the most common, and at the same 
time one of the most obstinate of the sequelae of the fevers of the 
south, I have known frequently relieved by the use of this 
water, as well as by that of the White Sulphur. 

Chronic Gastric Irritation, it is well known, is often relieved 
by the administration of an agent calculated to set up a new ac- 



22 

tion in the mucous coat, and those cases of dyspepsia which de- 
pend upon such a condition of the stomach are often relieved by 
the use of a sulphur water. A number of such are annually 
met with at the Salt Sulphur, many of which leave the spring 
perfectly cured. 

Gastralgia, or Nervous Dyspepsia, is also occasionally met 
with, and may depend upon a variety of causes — when it is purely 
a functional disease, unaccompanied by organic lesion, a sulphur 
water, along with sulphur baths will sometimes produce a very 
happy effect. 

Pyrosis or Water-brash is another disease in which the Salt 
Sulphur, proves pre-eminently useful. I have known cases in 
which a pint or more of a secretion so acid, as to set the teeth on 
edge, was daily thrown up, radically cured by the use of this 
water in the course of six or eight weeks. — (Mr. F. of Princeton, 
is an example of this.) 

When dyspepsia is known to be dependent upon scirrhous or 
cancer of the stomach, I would strenuously advise the patient to 
abstain from the use of the Salt Sulphur, and indeed from that of 
any mineral water. Mrs. C — of North Carolina was, I am con- 
vinced, destroyed by it. 

Chronic Irritation of the Bowels, giving rise to chronic diar- 
rhoea or dysentery, upon the principle of a new action being set 
up, are frequently cured by the use of the Salt Sulphur. I wish 
this statement to be borne in mind, for it is usual to decry the use 
of a sulphur water in such cases; but the experience of those who 
have paid attention to the subject, will bear me out in the asser- 
tion. Mr. T. of Philadelphia, who for three years labored under 
chronic diarrhoea, and who was supposed to have ulceration of 
the mucous membrane of the bowels, was radically cured by a 
few weeks use of the water. 

Constipation. — Habitual costiveness is another affection for 
which the Salt Sulphur water is an excellent remedy. 

Hemorrhoids. — The use of laxatives in piles is a treatment so 
long in use that nothing need be said in its favor, but the sulphur 
waters operate much more beneficially, than any other agent, in- 
asmuch as in nearly every case of chronic piles we find the liver 
more or less affected. This fact, first observed by Armstrong, is 






23 

so universally admitted, that I shall not stop to say any thing to- 
wards its further substantiation. 

7. Chronic Diseases of the Urinary Organs. — From the fact, 
that nearly all mineral waters, either from the quantity usually 
taken, or from some peculiarity of their ingredients, prove diu- 
retic, they have always been favorite remedies in diseases of 
the urinary organs. Those which contain an excess of alkaline 
ingredients, have without doubt proved remarkably serviceable 
in cases of acid calculous diathesis, but it must be confessed that 
as a general rule, and always where the stone is large, they prove 
but a doubtful remedy. In the incipient stages of calculous dis- 
ease, however, and those especially in which the formation of 
stone is dependent upon some disease of the digestive apparatus, 
the sulphur waters are often useful. Many such cases have 
been benefitted at the Salt Sulphur. When this water fails to 
accomplish the desired object, I have seen that of the Sweet 
Spring productive of much good. 

Although this water may be considered as a somewhat doubt- 
ful remedy in calculus diseases of any duration, it must be allowed 
to possess astonishing sanative properties in chronic irritation of 
the mucous membrane of the kidneys, bladder, prostate gland, 
and urethra. Many cases of chronic nephritis, vesical catarrh, 
prostatic irritation and gleet, are annually cured by its employ- 
ment. 

8. Chronic Diseases of the Genitals. — Like all sulphur wa- 
ters, those of the Salt Sulphur are often very useful in obstinate 
cases of general or local debility, the result of previous excessive 
indulgence. They are also remarkably beneficial in atonic 
leucorrhoza, amenorrhoea, and dysmenorrhea, but when either 
of these complaints is dependent upon local or general plethora, 
the use of the water must be preceded by depletion, either 
local or general, according to circumstances. 

9. Chronic Rheumatism and Gout. — The diseases most fre- 
quently met with, after those of the digestive organs, at our 
different watering places, are rheumatism and gout. In all such 
the alterative influence of a sulphur water, is invariably, I be- 
lieve, more or less useful; but to receive full benefit from its use, 
the warm or hot mineral bath should be resorted to, and the 




24 

diet, clothing and exercise properly regulated. With many 
others, I cheerfully acknowledge the immense benefit derived 
from the use of the Salt Sulphur. 

10. Mercurial Rheumatism, Periostitis and Inflammation 
of the Bones, are also very much relieved (in most cases) by the 
use of the Salt Sulphur. Along with the water, it will be well 
to use the Hot Baths. 

11. Chronic Diseases of the Skin. — When judiciously admi- 
nistered, no remedy is productive of more permanent benefit in 
all cutaneous affections, than the Sulphur Waters; but unfor- 
tunately they are but too often abused. They are only suitable 
when the eruptions are of long duration, and unaccompanied by 
inflammation. Used in the acute stages, they aggravate the 
symptoms. It is always proper, moreover, to employ the warm 
or hot baths, during the use of the water. The Salt Sulphur is 
often eminently successful in relieving cases of this kind. 

I have thus briefly sketched the principal affections to 
which the water of the Salt Sulphur is applicable, and to show 
that my assertions are borne out by facts, I insert the certificates 
of several persons, who with myself were very much benefitted 
by its use. 

Salt Sulphur Springs, July 29th, 1835. 

To Messrs. Erskine and Caruthers. 

Gentlemen: — The undersigned visitors at the Salt Sulphur 
Springs, prompted by a sense of grateful respect for your kind 
and unwearied attentions to ourselves and families, beg leave to 
convey to you our assurance of entire satisfaction with the ar- 
rangements of your establishment. 

Such have been the cordial hospitalities and ample and varied 
accommodations of your house, that we shall ever look back to 
our temporary residence with you, with pleasure and delight. 

Experience, which is the best analysis your Spring can have, 
justifies us in recommending it as an invaluable anti-dyspeptic 
water, relieving the liver, bowels, and vascular system, and act- 
ing very kindly upon the secretions generally. 

If order, abundant and well prepared fare, excellent bedding, 
quiet and obliging domestics, impartial and gentlemanly efforts 



25 

to promote health and comfort have any influence upon public 
favor, the proprietors of the Salt Sulphur, will certainly secure it. 
With sentiments of respectful regard, 

Your obedient servants, 

Rev. Benjamin M. Palmer, Charleston, S. C; James Chesnut, 
Camden, S. C; Jos. Otis, New York; Rev. John Johns, D. D., 
Baltimore, Md,; Alfred Leyburn, M. D., Lexington, Va.; Rev. 
Henry V. D. Johns, Fredericktown, Md.; H. J. Levis, Philadel- 
phia; Wm. H. Hubbard, Richmond, Va.; Thomas Wilson, Balti- 
more; Thomas Easley, Halifax county, Va.; A. Sebrell, Ka- 
nawha, Va.; Wm. Ellicott, Ellicott's Mills, Md.; Willis Jones, M. 
D., Milton, N. C; Henry P. Norris, Baltimore; R. Jones, U. S. A., 
Washington; W. P. Meacham, Mississippi; Peter. H. Dilliard, 
Rockingham county, N. C, James V. Toby, New Orleans; Geo. 
L. Twiggs, Georgia; Richard Tubman, Georgia; S. T. Gaillard, 
South Carolina; P. A. Clay, Bedford, Va ; Jacob G. Davies, Bal- 
timore; Samuel R. Smith, Baltimore; Robert M. R. Smith, Balti- 
more; J. B. Grimball, South Carolina; Oliver Norris, Baltimore; A. 
K. Brown, Petersburg; Wm. A. Caruthers, M. D., New York; Jno. 
Clark, M. D., New York; Samuel St. John, Jun., Mobile; Wm. 
Willson, Lexington, Va.; Charles S. Richards, New York; Olio 
Dyer, Mobile; Wm. Bones, Charleston, S. C ; John P. Staples, Patrick 
county, Va.; Geo. Walton, Lynchburg, Va.; John T. E. Lewis, 
Brunswick, Va.; James Greenlee, Rockbridge county, Va.; Benja= 
miu B. Duke, Louisa county, Va.; M. H. Dosson, Louisiana ; William 
Brown, North Carolina; Edward Wilkins, North Carolina; John 
Harleston, South Carolina, Francis D. Quash, South Carolina; 
S. Garland, Lynchburg, Va.; Geo. C. Friend, Charlotte county, 
Va.; Orlando S. Rees, South Carolina; J. B. Billysley, South 
Carolina; F. Pinckney Lowndes, Charleston, S. C; Thomas Shi- 
vers, Philadelphia; Thomas W. White, Halifax county, Va.; 
Burwell Bassett, Williamsburg; C. P. Dorman, Lexington, Va.; 
Henry Robertson, Charlotte county, Va.; Charles H. Robertson 
Charlotte county, Va.; Samuel N. Stevens, Charleston, S. C. 



26 

Salt Sulphur Spring, August IZth, 1838. 

Messrs. Erskine and Caruthers. 

Gentlemen: — Having been greatly benefitted by drinking the 
-waters of your valuable Spring, I deem it a duty to my fellow 
beings, to leave this statement of my case in your hands. 

For six months previous to my coming here, I had been suffer- 
ing with a most obstinate constipation of the bowels, which I had 
tried in vain to remove by medicine, diet and exercise, and dur- 
ing that time I could not obtain a stool without the aid of an 
injection, and great pain attending it. After being here ten days, 
the Salt Sulphur water began to act freely on my bowels, and 
now, at the expiration of a month, I am glad to inform you, that 
the constipation is entirely removed, my health and strength 
restored, and I am now going home in cheerful spirits to my 
friends. Yours truly, GEORGE A. BUTT, New York. 

Salt Sulphur Springs, August 10th, 1836. 

Mrs. left her house in a state of great debility, scarcely 

able to walk, and was but little recruited by the journey. She 
reached the Salt Sulphur on the 20th of July, having stopped a 
week at the White Sulphur on the way, but without using the 
water. After remaining three days at the Salt Sulphur and par- 
taking of the waters there, she proceeded to the Red Sulphur 
and staid there six days, returning on the 29th of July, to the 
Salt, having while at the Red, used two or three tumblers of the 
water per diem — remained at the Salt Sulphur until the 9th of 

August. When Mrs. arrived first at the Salt Sulphur, 

she weighed 91, and was unable to walk any distance or use 
any degree of exercise, without suffering greatly. 

In thirteen days after her arrival at the Salt Sulphur, was again 
weighed in the same scales, and had increased to 95 pounds and 
a half, making a gain of 4 pounds and a half in weight, while 
the circumference of her waist had been reduced nearly five 
inches. In the interim, her countenance and eyes had undergone 
an essential change for the better, her spirits and strength re- 
stored, so as to take any ordinary exercise of riding or walking 
without inconvenience. The quantity of water which she ordi- 
narily took, was from three to four glasses per diem, and she 



27 

was careful in her diet, avoiding all warm bread and principally 
using bran bread, hominy, mutton, &c, &c. 

Stanton, March, 1822. 

Some years since, I was afflicted with an obstinate and dan- 
gerous disease, from which I was unable to obtain relief, until I 
visited the Salt Sulphur Spring, near Union, i?i the county of 
Monroe. The use of that water restored me to perfect health; 
which makes it my duty to state, at the request of the proprietors, 
the high opinion I have formed of its medicinal efficacy. I con- 
sider the Salt Sulphur water eminently useful in all cases that 
require cathartic remedies, particularly such diseases of the liver 
and stomach as proceed from biliary obstructions. The opera- 
tion upon the bowels is active, but not violent; cleansing effec- 
tually the alimentary canal, and promoting digestion in a remark- 
able degree. The cathartic tendency of the water is so mild and 
certain, that the stomach and bowels are never oppressed or 
irritated — and whilst the healthy functions of the system are 
enabled to take their course, the suspended causes of disease are 
gradually worn away. BRISCOE G. BALDWIN. 

In the year 1812, 1 visited the Sweet and Sulphur Springs. I 
was then laboring under a nervous debility and extreme costive- 
ness; I derived much benefit and relief from the use of all those 
waters, but found none so strong and active as the Salt Sulphur. 
I concur in the opinion with many, that this is a valuable water, 
and should be more sought after. Certified this 6th day of May, 
1823. S. B. CHAPMAN. 

Salt Sulphur Spring, Jlugust 3lst, 1836. 
Messrs. Cartjthers & Erskine. 

Gentlemen: — Intending to leave your excellent and perfectly 
arranged establishment to-morrow on my return home, I cannot 
however do so without expressing my thanks to you for your 
politeness and attention to myself (and I observed the same at- 
tention to others) during my stay at the Salt Sulphur; and I have 
much pleasure in saying that the use of the Salt Sulphur Spring 
water has been eminently beneficial to me, for prior to my com- 
ing here, I had been suffering for upwards of eighteen months 



28 

from a total derangement of stomach from a long residence in a 
warm climate, (Bermuda) say, bad bile, great acidity of stomach, 
and an overflow of mucus to the lungs; in short, I had dyspepsia 
with all its disagreeables, accompanied with debility of body. 
Having tried the White Sulphur water for ten days without be- 
nefit, I came here, and in a week I found relief from all my com- 
plaints, but my medical adviser who practised at the White 
recommended me to try the Red Sulphur, notwithstanding my 
having written to him of my improved state — my pulse for one 
thing being reduced from 80 to 73 beats:— I went to the Red and 
staid there eight days; my pulse rose on third day to 82, the 5th 
day 89, the 6th day to 96 and 100; I was obliged to be leeched, 
which reduced my pulse to 84; I had there headaches and great 
dryness of tongue; so on the 9th day in the morning I returned 
to the Salt, where on the 4th day my pulse was again at 73, on 
the sixth day at 71 beats, and has continued from that day to 
this, varying only from 71 to 72 night and morning. / always 
counted my pulse in bed, when quiet, before drinking the water, 
for after drinking the Spring water, my pulse latterly came down 
to 6S beats. I was attentive to my diet, taking only stale bread 
or dry toast with scarcely any butter, two cups of tea with milk 
(no cream) for breakfast; dinner was mutton (no gravy) with 
rice and stale bread, no other vegetable — sometimes I took roast 
fowl, but no pudding or pies; at tea time, I took one cup of tea 
and stale bread, no butter, I found grease so bad for me. The 
quantity of water taken by me was two half pint tumblers at 
half past 5 o'clock in the morning in bed, one tumbler at 12 
o'clock, sometimes one at 5 o'clock, and when in bed at night I 
took one more tumbler of the water, but if I wished to perspire 
a little more freely I took two tumblers of it. I found the water 
determine gently to the bowels, rather than to the kidneys; what 
1 took produced a full movement of the bowels. Before break- 
fast I walked a quarter of an hour; between breakfast and dinner 
I walked about five miles, often going to Union; between dinner 
and bed time I think I walked about two miles more — I used to 
calculate about seven miles a day. For one hour after dinner I 
remained quiet in my room. I ate fruit once, and it gave me 
such a lesson I never tried it again. I am thus particular; for it 



29 

may be of benefit to some one else next year, and you are quite 
welcome to show this letter if you wish it. 

Wishing you your healths, not forgetting Mrs. Erskine, I re- 
main, gentlemen, your obdt. servant, 

W. H. BURNABY, Baronet. 

Salt Sulphur Springs, September 22d, 1839. 
Messrs. Erskine & Caruthers: 

I have been affected for five or six years with an obstinate 
disease of the liver and dyspepsia, and have visited nearly all 
the Springs in the mountains without having experienced any 
material benefit, until I came to this place. I have applied to 
some of the best physicians without being relieved, but am happy 
to state, that the Salt Sulphur water has had a most beneficial 
effect, in removing many of the inconveniencies attending my 
disease, insomuch that I am induced to carry a portion of it home 
with me. 

Yours most respectfully, JOSEPH E. GARRATT. 

P. S. I am a resident of Knoxville, Frederick County, Mary- 
land. J. E. G. 

A true copy of the original. E. & CARUTHERS. 



31 



APPENDIX. 

Within the last two years the accommodations at the Salt Sul- 
phur have been materially improved, so that at present three 
hundred and fifty visitors can be conveniently and most comfort- 
ably lodged. The Table and Bar are not surpassed by any in 
the mountains, and scarcely by any even in our large cities. Ex- 
cellent free stone water can be obtained without difficulty, by 
those with whom the limestone disagrees. 

Taking Washington D. C. as the starting point, the Salt Sul- 
phur may be reached by a variety of routes. The shortest is by 
coach to Warrington or Lee's Spring — thence to Orange Court 
Plouse, Charlottesville, Staunton, and Warm Springs. Another 
route is from Washington or Baltimore, by rail-road to Harper's 
Ferry and Winchester, thence to -Harrisonburg, and thence to the 
Warm Spring, or from Winchester to Staunton and the Warm 
Springs; the distance is about one hundred and fifty miles by the 
first, and a little longer by the second; and the stage fare about 
ten cents a mile. A third route is by Steamboat down the Poto- 
mac, and up the James River to Richmond, the capital of Vir- 
ginia; thence by railroad to Gordonsville eighty-five miles, and 
thence to Charlottesville by coach twenty miles more, thence to 
Staunton and Warm Springs. A fourth route is from Washington 
by Steamboat to Potomac creek; thence by stage, nine miles to 
Fredericksburg, thence by railroad to Gordonsville and thence to 
Charlottesville by coach. 

The second route, (or that by Harper's Ferry,) which takes 
you through the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah is much 
the most agreeable. The great draw back to this route has been 
the badness of the road between Winchester and Harrisonburg, 
but within the last twelve months this has been removed, and there 
is now a fine Macdamised pike in its stead. The roads on the 
other routes are very good and in no respect dangerous as is 
usually imagined* 



32 

Having reached the Warm Spring and partaken of the ex- 
cellent cheer of " Colonel Fry," you then proceed to the " Hot," 
five miles distant. This spring is owned by Dr. Goode, who 
resides on the premises, and is always ready fc to afford every assist- 
ance to the invalids who visit his baths. I cannot refrain from 
the expression of my warmest thanks to this gentleman for the 
great kindness received at his hands, and unhesitatingly recom- 
mend him as a skilful, and accomplished physician, to all who 
may stand in need of medical advice. 

Thirty-Jive miles from the Hot is the " White Sulphur," the 
reputation of which is too well known to require any additional 
support. To Mr. William Calwell, and his " prime minister," 
Mr. King, I cordially recommend the invalid to entrust himself, 
for to more worthy and feeling hands he could not be confided. 
Twenty-four miles from the White, are the Salt, and here both 
sick and well may rest assured of a hearty as well as a bounti- 
ful welcome. In sickness especially do the good qualities of 
the excellent proprietors stand conspicuous. 

Seventeen miles from the Salt is the Red, to which crowds of 
consumptive patients annually resort. Dr. Burke the proprietor, 
is a gentleman in every acceptation of the term, and does all in 
his power to render his guest comfortable, in which attempt he is 
universally successful. 

Nine miles from the Red are the Grey, of which I know so 
little, that 1 will not venture an opinion respecting their virtues. 

Thirty-two miles from the Salt is the Blue, and twenty- 
three miles from the former, are the Sweet, but of these I shall 
speak in another place. 



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